Real Brownfields Deserve Dollars I
read with interest the story on Brownfield development dollars in the
July 20 issue. I applaud Dan Lathrop and other county commissioners who
voted “No” on the Randolph Street project...

Hopping Mad Carlin
Smith is hopping mad (“Will You Get Mad With Me?” 7-20-15). Somebody
filed a fraudulent return using his identity, and he’s not alone. The AP
estimates the government “pays more than $5 billion annually in
fraudulent tax refunds.” Well, many of us have been
hopping mad for years. This is because the number one tool Congress has
used to fix this problem has been to cut the IRS budget –by $1.2 billion
in the last 5 years...

Just Grumbling, No Solutions Mark
Pontoni’s grumblings [recent Northern Express column] tell us much
about him and virtually nothing about those he chooses to denigrate. We
do learn that Pontoni may be the perfect political candidate. He’s
arrogant, opinionated and obviously dimwitted...

A Racist Symbol I
have to respond to Gordon Lee Dean’s letter claiming that the
confederate battle flag is just a symbol of southern heritage and should
not be banned from state displays. The heritage it represents was the
treasonous effort to continue slavery by seceding from a democratic
nation unwilling to maintain such a consummate evil...

Not So Thanks I
would like to thank the individual who ran into and knocked over my
Triumph motorcycle while it was parked at Lowe’s in TC on Friday the
24th. The $3,000 worth of damage was greatly appreciated. The big dent
in the gas tank under the completely destroyed chrome badge was an
especially nice touch...

Letters 12-23-2013

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Obamacare’s good deal

It’s true that Obamacare led my daughter’s insurance company to decide to drop her plan. But guess what? Thanks to Obamacare, she will be getting better coverage from the same company at lower cost.

I recently heard an announcement for a fundraiser to help cover the medical expenses of a child who required an extended hospitalization. I hope the fundraiser was a great success and the child is doing well. I’m also grateful President Obama stared down the forces of evil that fought ruthlessly to perpetuate a system in which so many families in such situations face financial ruin. Thanks to Obamacare, that will no longer be the case starting next year.

Many people either can’t afford preventive care, or put off preventive care due to its high cost. Thanks to Obamacare, these people will have no problem obtaining preventive services in the future, as these services will generally be covered at no cost by their affordable insurance policies. Needless to say, this will be extremely beneficial to these individuals, as well as to society as a whole.

Obamacare, or more fittingly ObamaCares, is not perfect, but it’s a huge improvement over the status quo. Thank you President Obama and the Democrats.

Fred Cepela • TC

GOP’s desperate attacks

An irony in the monumental fight over the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is that most Democrats prefer a single-payer system (Medicare-For-All), demonstrably the most efficient and economical method of healthcare delivery. But because such a system was a political non-starter with Republicans, President Obama proposed legislation that was until recently the Republican health program, one that preserved private insurance, in accord with Republican ideas of market exchanges and individual mandates – a program that in no way could be called “socialized medicine.”

Nonetheless, the distortions and obstruction began immediately, as Republicans rejected their own idea. You know things are crazy when Mitt Romney abandons his own wildly successful program in Massachusetts in order to become the Republican nominee for president. As Republicans now have absolutely no program of their own, all they can do is try to destroy the ACA.

Now that the glitches in the initial ACA rollout are being repaired and people are signing up in droves, the attacks are getting truly desperate. With GOP blessing, the Koch brothers are running a multi-million dollar campaign to persuade people not to sign up for health insurance. Think about it: self-described “conservatives” advising young people not to think ahead, not to worry, accidents don’t happen.

It’s the
Democrats who are looking ahead. They will not settle for the bad old
days of bankruptcies, suffering, and death. Despite its initial
problems, Americans will continue to sign up for the ACA because it is
their best hope of securing protection they desperately need and have
been denied.

In
a saner and more ethical political climate, Republicans would actually
help to make Obamacare work – to finally address the scandal of the
richest and most powerful country in the world unable to figure out how
to provide health care for all its citizens.

Mary M. Easthope Lake Leelanau

Guns & screwdrivers

Recently,
I bought a gun at a sporting good store that required a background
check that took about 3 minutes. The next day I stood in line at Sears
about 5 minutes to buy a screwdriver set that was on sale. Is Sears
trying to take my tools away? p.s. Tomorrow I can sell both at a garage
sale to anyone, no wait.

Terry Frysinger • Frankfort

Mandela's legacy

Nelson
Mandela is being acclaimed worldwide for his role in managing the
peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa. Without
Mandela, South Africa would have otherwise become a bloodbath.

For
over 40 years, the conservative movement largely opposed Mandela,
supporting apartheid as a bulwark against communist influence in Africa.
Misguided, ends justifying means, anti-communist paranoia has been part
of the world’s greatest democracy’s lasting shame.

Since
the 1950s, we have supported oppressive regimes everywhere solely in
the name of anti-communism. The people of Cuba, Vietnam, Iran, Chile,
Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, Guatemala and dozens of other countries
will never forget our interference with their self-determination.

In
1986, Congress passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act which
triggered the end of apartheid. Then President Reagan referred to this
effort to pressure the minority racist South African government through
disinvestment and other sanctions as “immoral” and “utterly repugnant.”
Fortunately 31 Republican Senators out of 53, joined with Democrats to
override Reagan’s veto. Reagan even listed Mandela’s African National
Congress as a terrorist group - a designation not lifted until 2008.

The
National Review, the Heritage Foundation, William Buckley, Pat
Buchanan, the fundamentalist Christian leadership, Grover Nordquist and
others supported apartheid and opposed Mandela’s release.
Then-Congressman Dick Cheney even called Mandela a “terrorist.”

But
our sanctions worked. After a 27 year imprisonment for his opposition
to apartheid, Mandela was released in 1990, won the Nobel Peace Prize in
1993 for negotiating the peaceful transition of power and became the
first democratically elected South African president in 1994.

The
conservative movement has a convenient way of forgetting about their
enduring choices to be on the wrong side of history. We need only
remember how conservatives similarly responded to our own champion of
civil rights, Dr. Martin Luther King. When it mattered, when Mandela and
King put their lives on the line for social justice, the right was on
the other side – as usual.